ぴのみさんの おぼえた日記 - 2024年1月9日(火)

◇クリスの英語でよもやま話　第34回　2024.1月号　2024.1.9
Words have no meaning!　言葉には意味がない!

1.　Most of us would agree that words are the building blocks of communication. If we want our message to be fully understood by our interlocutors, it is essential to choose the appropriate words. That's obvious, isn't it? Well, the reality is that it is not that easy to accomplish this. I thought it might be interesting to reflect on the fact that words themselves can be obstacles to effective communication.

building block 構成要素、欠かせない要素
interlocutor 対話者、対談者
reflect on ~をよく考える・検討する
obstacle 障害、妨げ

2.　Firstly, it is said that the 500 most used words in English have more than 14,000 different definitions! Do you know the word with the most definitions? It's 'run,' with 645, according to The Oxford English Dictionary (OED). The point is that with so many meanings to choose from, it's not surprising if our communication fails at times. American writer, William Cole, gives us a playful example of how tricky English can be due to words having multiple meanings in a poem entitled The Mysteries of Anatomy. Here is a tiny selection of verses just to offer you a flavor of the poem:

William Cole ウィリアム・コール アメリカの作家・編集者
verse (詩・歌詞の)一行、詩句

3. Where can a man buy a cap for his knee,
Or a key for a lock of his hair?
Can his eyes be called an academy
Because there are pupils there?

kneecap 膝頭
lock 錠、髪の毛の房
pupil 生徒、瞳孔

4. Can you catch the double meanings?

5. Secondly, words themselves can be a barrier to communication because they have no meaning. What? Yes, I too was shocked when I first read this in a work entitled The Meaning of Meaning by British authors, Ogden and Richards. To put it very simply, they said that words have no meaning, people do. The meaning of a word is determined by the lived experience of the speaker. Words, then, are just arbitrary symbols waiting for people to attach meaning to them. We all understand words in a subjective way, shaped by our past experiences, our values, our culture, and so on. Let's look at a simple example, the word 'dog.' For some this might mean a wonderful companion man's best friend. For others, it could mean a noisy animal whose barking drives them nuts! If we take other words like 'home' or 'police officer,' it is easy to imagine how people's 'lived experience' of these and consequently their meaning, would differ enormously. The problem for communication is that we tend to think that other people understand words in the same way as we do.

Ogden and Richards C. K. オグデン 、I.A. リチャーズ 「意味論」の研究者
arbitrary 恣意的な、任意の
subjective 主観的な
drive ~ nuts (人)の気を変にさせる、(人)をいらいらさせる
enormously 非常に

6.　I agree with Rudyard Kipling when he says that words are "the most powerful drug used by mankind," so let's enjoy them but use them very carefully!

Rudyard Kipling ラドヤード・キップリング イギリスの詩人・作家


◇フランス語応用編　Leçon10　mardi 9 janvier

◎表現の鍵

1.　plus ou moins
発音は ouの前で必ずリエゾンする。「多かれ少なかれ、いくらかは」という意味
結果ははっきりしないものの、ある程度の成果があることを表す。
Les affaires marchent bien? 仕事はうまくいってますか。
Plus ou moins.　まあまあです。
*肯定であるとも、否定であるとも、どちらにも受け取れる。
私はこのトランプの規則をいくらか知っています。(トランプ: jeu de cartes)
Je connais plus ou moins les règles de ce jeu de cartes.

2. de moins en moins 「だんだん少なく」
en の前で必ずリエゾンする。de plus en plus 「ますます (多く)」の反対語で、否定を表す。
Je reconnais de moins en moins la France.
フランスがだんだんとフランスらしくなくなってきたように、私には思える。
私は読書する時間がますます少なくなっている。(読書する時間: temps pour lire)
J'ai de moins en moins de temps pour lire.


☆言葉の使い方は本当に難しいです。日本語でも言い方次第で誤解されてしまうことがあります。英語ではなおさらですが、臆病になっていてはいつまでたっても話せるようになりませんね。今日もクリスさんの話に考えさせられました。